Cecilos One Shots
by genderfluidnoodle
Summary: Just some Cecilos one shots. Open to any suggestions for my favorite gay beans. Rated M for later smut, if there is smut in a chapter the title will say (smut) after the name.
1. Little Squid (fluff)

Carlos lay, sprawled across the bed, breathing ragged with terror, as the wriggling, humanoid, tentacle creature blocked the light coming through the door frame from the hall light in Cecil's apartment. The tentacles swirled and twisted and one began to reach for him...

Click!

The light in the room turned on.

Carlos closed his eyes against the blinding lights, and when he opened them again, Cecil stood in the doorway, a concerned expression painted across his face. "Carlos? You sounded like you were having a nightmare. Are you alright?"

Carlos blinked.

He had gone to Cecil's bedroom to take a nap after having a bit of a breakdown, an existential crisis of sorts. His ASD tended to make that happen quite often during times of stress.

"Carlos?" Cecil said. He was sitting on the edge of the bed now. Carlos hadn't even seen him move.

"Y..yeah, Cece. I'm okay."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No.." he paused, looking up into Cecil's calming, peaceful eyes. He almost reconsidered. "I'm okay, I think."

Cecil frowned and kicked off his slippers, joining Carlos beneath the plush sheets of his bed.

"I don't believe you. Therefore, I believe cuddles are in order to solve this apparent nightmare." The Voice of Night Vale wrapped his arm around Carlos's stomach, grasping his shirt, and put his head on his chest.

Carlos chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around Cecil's shoulders, staring up at the ceiling until drifting back to sleep.

If the lights weren't left on, Carlos would've thought he was dreaming again.

But he wasn't dreaming. In fact, he was never dreaming.

The only reason he might've thought he was, is because when he awoke, there was a tentacle wrapped around his arm, and another gently curled into his hair.

He shrieked and yanked them off, leaping out of bed. He went to grab Cecil but the tentacles seemed to already be wrapped around him.

The tentacles said his name, it was low and gravelly.

There were too many of them.

Cecil awoke to a high pitched scream and slowly drug himself awake. "Carrllloss...?" He said groggily. Cecil blinked his eyes open and saw Carlos, eyes wide and crazy, pressed against the wall in terror.

Cecil was confused.

"Did you have another nightmare?" He asked sleepily. "Come back to bed, my love"

Carlos shook his head furiously.

Cecil sighed and went to get up to help his boyfriend, when he saw the tentacles.

He gave a little yip and drew his tentacles back into his skin.

"It's okay baby, they're all gone now, see?" Cecil said shakily, trying desperately to repair the situation.

"Cecil, what the actual fuck?"

Cecil tutted, knowing that there was no way to back out of this now.

"Carlos, sit down please." He said, patting the bed next to him. "Let me explain."

Carlos tentatively sat down, wrestling with his emotions, breathing picking up. He pulled out a stick of spearmint gum, as he always did in stressful situations, and began vigorously chewing.

"You know Night Vale is different than most towns...half of our citizens couldn't even be classified as humans. Well, I'm part of that half. I don't remember when I discovered them or even started using them, but they are a part of me, and can't hurt you." Cecil said in a calm, even tone, trying to relax his boyfriend.

After a few minutes of silence, Carlos had slowed his chewing and calmed himself enough to ask Cecil some questions, as a scientist does.

"Can I see again?"

"Of course, my love"

Cecil tentatively brought back his tentacles, sliding them trough the neck and arm holes of his clothing slowly and carefully so as not to frighten the man any more.

"Intriguing..."

Carlos reached out and caressed one, it was soft and warm like Cecil's skin. It leaned into Carlos's touch.

"Where do they come from?" He asked, trailing the tentacle back to Cecil's shirt hole.

The radio host tugged his short over his head and turned around, revealing the purple tendrils coming out of his back.

Carlos traced the tentacle down to the base and noted its seamless connection to Cecil.

He arched his back into Carlos's touch, savoring the feeling of his calloused hands against his back.

"Mm..Carlos..."

Carlos pulled back. "Sorry"

Cecil whined and pushed back again, trying to get Carlos's hands back on his body any way he could.

The scientist noticed his desperate attempts and gently placed both hands against Cecil's skin, running them down his back softly, causing him to sigh in pleasure.

"I just love feeling you."

Carlos smiled at this and wrapped both arms around Cecil's torso. The squiggling of the tentacles between his chest and the other mans back was a little strange, but not unpleasant. Cecil turned back around and wrapped his arms, legs, and tentacles around Carlos and pulled them both down to the bed, snuggling fiercely.

Carlos chuckled, gently wrapping his arm around his boyfriend and going back to sleep.

And when he awoke the next morning, there was a few more tentacles curled up into his hair, but this time, he smiled, and kissed Cecil on the forehead.

"I love you, my little squid"


	2. Cecil’s Re-Education (almost smut)

Cecil was used to strange experiences in Night Vale. Things were popping up and then leaving, people disappearing and reappearing somewhere else. He knew it could happen to him too.

But he never could have suspected the circumstances.

Fate played a cruel trick on Cecil Gershwin Palmer.

Because he went to bed as he normally did, and when he awoke, he couldn't see, couldn't move, and heard many familiar voices.

Cecil attempted to speak, but something was in his mouth that muffled and distorted his words.

He tried to move his arms but they seemed fixed in place at his sides. He tried moving his legs, but they too were fixed to the ground. He noted that he was barefoot, and standing on something that felt like gravel.

He couldn't do anything but listen to the voices.

Once he tuned in on them, he began noticing almost everyone he knew.

"Oh my goodness, Cecil…" Intern Dana

"Dana! Help me, I think I'm stuck!" Cecil tried to say, but what came out was more like "Dahnah!hehl ee I dink Ium shtuk"

She seemed to understand his words.

"I...I don't...uhmm…" Dana...didn't want to help him?

He turned to some other voices. Maybe someone else would help.

"Wow, I don't think anyone's ever seen Cecil quite like this…" Old Woman Josie.

"I have. Unfortunately." Said the faceless old woman who lives in your home.

"Now that's a change of pace for a Monday morning." Steve Carlsburg. (Ugh)

"That caught all of my ten eyes" Hiram McDaniels laughed.

"Wow, That's um...interesting" intern Vanessa

"I never knew Cecil was hung like a horse." John Peters (you know, the farmer?)

..wait…

A cool breeze that passed through the streets confirmed his suspicions.

Cecil wasn't wearing a scrap of clothing.

Once he realized this, he jerked at his restraints, earning himself a hearty shock that seemed to be delivered to every inch of his body.

He yelled in pain and dropped his head, breathing heavily.

"Ok Cecil, it's ok, it could be worse. At least you didn't hear-"

"Cecil?!"

Carlos.

He panicked and jerked his restraints again,and a sharper pain shot through him, causing his body to spasm a bit before becoming his own again.

"What's going on?" He heard Carlos's voice say to someone.

"Municipal re-education." A voice replied.

Tears began to form in the corners of Cecil's eyes.

Carlos and him weren't even to their second date. And the rule was three dates and a blood stone sacrifice.

What did he even do to get such a punishing re-education?

Oh...oh no…

They found his pen stash.

He kept three ballpoint pens in the locked drawer of his desk for emergencies.

He hadn't even used them.

Ok he had once. But he got too high off of the power and never did it again. He planned on selling them back to the strange masked men in the dog park.

And now here he was, naked, unable to move too drastically for fear of electrocution, blindfolded, gagged, with his Carlos only a few feet away from the sound of it.

Tears soaked the blindfold and rolled down his face.

He heard the sweet caramel voice in his ear.

"Cece, I'm going to try and get you out of this okay?"

Cecil nodded shamefully.

The scientist tugged on the restraints, electrocuting Cecil once more.

The worst part was, as Carlos's hands ran down his body, and the soft aftershocks of the electricity sparked through him, Cecil began to get aroused.

Not of his own will of course, it was just his body being natural, but that didn't make the radio host feel any better about his predicament.

All he could do was sob. The gravel digging into his heels, the whole town seeing him get an erection from his darling Carlos, it was too much. He just...passed out.

It was mortifying to say the least, fainting of embarrassment in the presence of your crush.

But eventually he awoke, wrapped in blankets and secured in Carlos, arms and legs tangled together.

Cecil was able to open his eyes again. They felt dry and irritated from his previous tears.

His jaw was aching. He looked down and saw he was in one of Carlos's T-shirt's, his favorite one with a grey mandala, and a pair of soft cotton boxers which were a bit big on his hips.

He was in a small bed, maybe twin sized.

Carlos stirred and lifted his head.

"You're awake." He said, before pausing. "I uh, got your punishment changed."

Cecil's face became every shade of red, as he began to stutter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't...I never wanted…I shouldn't have...the pens…"

"Shh, it's okay love." Carlos pulled the smaller mans head into his chest.

"What did you get it changed to? The re-education?" Cecil mumbled into Carlos's chest.

"House arrest with yours truly. Dana is doing the show today and bringing your recording equipment by tonight. But um...they did have one condition."

"What's that?"

"For a month, every time secret police see you doing something they don't want you to do, you get a zap." Carlos gestured towards Cecil's ankle, where a cuff was locked tight. "However, they waived the blood stone circle requirement. And the two dates we can get out of the way right here, so we can make this month as enjoyable as possible for you." The scientist said, giving his boyfriend a soft kiss on the top of his head.

Cecil blushed again, squirming deeper into Carlos's warm hug.

"I'm sorry again you walked into that...I wanted our first time seeing each other like that to be special…"

"It's okay love. I just got to try the sample before buying the meal."

This made Cecil laugh, and he made a content little 'mm' noise before slowly and gently falling back asleep in the safety that was his favorite scientist.


	3. Synesthesia (smut)

To be honest, I only walked into the bar because I heard the live music from the street and wanted to see a few more songs before I went home to my lonely room in the back of the lab.

Now, I don't think you understand what I mean when I say 'watch'. You may think you understand, but I can almost assure that you don't.

Color synesthesia is what my doctor told me it was. Songs, pitches, notes, peoples voices, and sometimes feelings, they're all transferred into beautiful colors and patterns in my head. And the band that was playing had some nice colors. So I stayed. Shades of blue and green danced behind my closed eyes, and when I opened them after the song, they fixed themselves on a man standing in the corner by the bar. He was wearing a gray wrap top, a neon orange beaded necklace and dark green leggings, with black wedge heels.I was drawn to him for some reason. He looked so sad, so tired. He gazed forlornly into his glass of vodka. I decided to join him at the bar.

I sat in the stool next to him and ordered myself a margarita.

"I like your necklace." My voice danced, yellows and deep oranges flirting around the sides of my vision.

He looked at me for a few seconds, before responding with a simple "Thank you."

His voice was so beautiful. Swirling purples, browns, and pinks, twisting and turning like ink being dropped into water. I was mesmerized. I had to get him to talk more.

"You look upset. Any reason?"

"If you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget."

There was a long pause.

The music started back up, blocking Carlos's vision slightly.

"You're new here, aren't you?" the man said.Carlos nodded.

"I'm Cecil. Cecil Palmer." His voice swirled across his vision.

"Carlos Flores."

"Beautiful…" Cecil drunkenly mumbled, staring into his glass.

My drink came and I sipped at the alcoholic slushee.

POV CHANGE

"Cecil…"

The reporter swiftly turned back to look at Carlos.

"Are you alright?"

He sighed deeply.

"Another intern died today. She had the most promise out of all of them. I really thought she would take my place one day."

Cecil took a big swig from his glass.

Carlos, who had a PhD in Science, studied social sciences at one point. He pulled out the info from those classes from the deep recesses of his mind.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Cecil. How do you feel about her loss?"

"She...I…" He sighed again. "Sad. I feel sad. I know that is not the forecasted feeling for today and I don't know where it came from, but I am incredibly, sorrowfully sad."

"F..forecasted feeling?"

"Yes, of course. Don't you read the paper, Carlos? Sorry that was rude of me. Some people can't read or don't have access to newspapers. I deeply apologize. I'm just still a bit flustered. Not flustered! I'm….I'm…"

"You're drunk."Carlos finished Cecil's thought. Cecil turned to him, his face flushed, lavender/periwinkle eyes wide and hair mussed up.Carlos began to feel a deep set attraction to the man sitting in front of him. Was he gay? Did he feel the same way towards carlos? Did he top or bottom?

'Callate, Carlos! Ugh, I shouldn't be thinking things like that...it's just the alcohol hitting me.'

"Perhaps I am drunk." Cecil concluded swiftly. "Also tired, I suppose." He began typing something out on his phone.

"Did you drive here?" Carlos asked. Cecil definitely wasn't fit to drive.

"Public transport. But the last bus left half an hour ago. So I'm walking a few miles home." He said, taking another sip of his drink and closing his phone.

"Don't be silly. We can walk to my place, it's only a few minutes from here, and-"

"Yes, I would love to stay with you for the night, thank you!" Cecil exclaimed, turning towards him, seeming to have perked up a bit.

'I was going to say get my car so I can take you home, but I guess that works too.' Carlos thought to himself.

They both downed the rest of their drinks and stood up, Cecil stumbling a bit. Carlos reached out an arm for the other man to hold for balance. The colors of the bar music began to fade away as they exited the building into the cold night air, and began walking down the street.

"Mm.." Cecil made a soft noise and nuzzled into Carlos's arm, which he was still holding for balance.

'Is he cold, or is he flirting? Or just unbalanced? Dios Mio…what do I do?'

They finally got to the lab, and Carlos swiped his keycard. The two stumbled into the lab.

POV CHANGECarlos led me through a big room filled with all sorts of equipment and beakers and test tubes. I got a little shiver down my spine imagining him tying me up and doing all sorts of sexy experiments on me.

A noise.

Someone was in the lab…

Carlos told me not to worry, it was probably someone up late.

"Whos there?" A deep voice called out.

"It's me!" Carlos called back.

"Carlos! God you scared me!" a man came out from around the corner of a cubicle.

He had red hair and a full red beard.

"Oh my god, Skylar. What are you doing up so late?"

"Still working on those soil samples from around the house that's not really there." Skylar noticed me."And who is this?" He asked, smirking knowingly.

"Don't get any wrong ideas I don't even know if..." Carlos said in more of a hushed tone, before cutting himself off.

What the hell was he implying?

"Hey. You're the boss round here." He said, putting up his hands with a smile.

"Goodnight, Skylar." Carlos said, returning the smile, tugging my arm.

"Goodnight, be safe." he said with a wink, which anywhere else would have implied sex, but Night Vale was an unpredictable place, he could have meant anything.

Carlos opened up a door at the back of the lab and revealed a staircase to an upper apartment level.

They walked down the hallway at the top until they got to a room at the end of the hall, which Carlos unlocked and entered. It was one room and had a low ceiling and a dimmable light turned up only about halfway, the bed was in the corner, and had a low to the ground bed frame. There was a couch, the dresser had lots of things on it, including some medication bottles, a vase of flowers, and a little figurine of a dragon.

There were a couple things on the walls, a TV, a Mexican flag, and a...

...a pride flag…

Carlos jumped when he noticed me looking at the rainbow cloth hanging from the wall.

"Excuse me, if you could step out for a minute, i need to...uh..tidy up." He practically started pushing me towards the door. Before he could get me there and open the door, I made an irrational decision.

I kissed him.

His lips were soft and tasted like sage and honey.

He stumbled back and fell onto the bed, taking me with him. I felt his arms wrap around my lower back and I let mine wander into his hair.

Eventually, too soon, we both pulled away.

"We're drunk."

"I know."

"I just met you"

"I know"

"You don't have a problem with any of that?"

"Do you?"

"No." He smirked, kissing me again

"God you're beautiful." I whispered softly to the man under me.

We made out for a few minutes before his hands started running up and down my chest. I kicked off my heels and straddled his waist.

POV CHANGE

Cecil's hips began grinding down on me, causing splashes of pink and yellow.

"W..wait. Do you have a.." I began.

"A condom? No I don't. And if you're asking me I assume…"

"Yeah I don't have one either...mierda.." I cursed.

"Was that Spanish?"

"Yeah, sorry." I muttered. 'I've gotta watch my tongue.'

"Don't be. It was hot." He breathed into my ear. I could practically feel his smirk.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go find some protection..someone has to have one right?"

He swung his left leg over me to meet his right so I could get up.

The front of my jeans were tight, but I pulled my shirt down a bit and hoped nobody would notice.

I knocked on a few doors asking for stuff, but it was Linda who had everything I needed.

"So who do you have back there?" She said, handing me a bottle of lube and a condom. "Is she cute?"

"Um….y..yeah.." I took a breath. "Yeah, he is pretty cute."

She seemed unfazed by my homosexuality.

"I want to meet him tomorrow morning. Don't be too loud, have fun." She said with a smile before closing the door.

I didn't have time to think on Linda's reaction however, because there was very little blood still in my brain.

I rushed back to my room, knocking before entering which felt very strange.

Cecil had the blankets pulled up to his stomach, exposing his chest and arms which were covered in tribal like tattoos. He bit his lip and smiled when he saw what Carlos had brought.

I began stripping off my lab coat and shirt, fumbling with buttons before finally tearing it off.

I crawled into the bed, and began kissing his chest and neck.

His legs came up to wrap around my waist and I pushed my hips against him, causing flashes of color to dance around my vision.

"Ah...Carlos.." he moaned in that beautiful purple blue voice of his.

I began to strip off his leggings, revealing his hard cock straining against the fabric of his panties. Which were black and lacy and very cute to be quite honest.

However I slowly slipped them down as well, and took his member into my mouth.

He whimpered and bucked his hips, and I began to move my head as his fingers twined themselves into my hair. Sharp little shards of green flowed into my vision as he gave my dark locks a few gentle tugs.

His little noises of pleasure slowly became louder and his colors became more and more vibrant until finally, he pulled my head off of him.

"What'd you do that for?" I asked, wiping spit from the edge of my mouth.

He pulled me up close to his face and kissed me passionately.

"When I come, I want it to be around your cock."

Cecil's words sent a shot of pleasure straight to my groin.

"I think we can make that happen." I said with a smirk.

I grabbed the condom and bottle of lube Linda had given me and popped the top off of the little bottle.

"Wait, let me do it." Cecil said. I nodded and handed him the bottle.

People debate over what the 8th wonder of the world is, but in that moment, I was 100% sure that the 8th wonder was Cecil Palmer stretching himself out, spread eagle in front of me, moaning and softly cussing. He went slow, making sure to make himself comfortable, and tease me to death.

I was getting harder by the second.

And when he reached over to start stroking my attention starved cock with slippery lubed up fingers I let out a choked moan and colors blinded me, oranges and yellows. He gave me a little tug to tell me he was ready.

I wasted no time slipping myself into his warmth, hearing him let out a small gasp as he stretched to accommodate me, feeling him tighten and wrap his arms around my torso and hook his legs over my calves.

I began moving my hips, hearing Cecil's moans and whimpers of pleasure. I went faster as the man under me pushed his hips up into mine.

I saw shades of yellow, shades of pink, shades of red and orange, the nails scratching down my back left streaks of red and green across my vision. The colors mixed with Cecil's purple voice kept building and getting brighter and more frantic until the yellows took over and white filled my vision as I came harder than I ever have.

The white faded into maroon and then to purple and blue and then there was nothing but Cecil's beautiful voice, and the covers being pulled over me, and the condom being taken off my over sensitive self, and a cloth wiping up sticky fluid that was on my stomach. And then there was sweaty limbs wrapped around me, and a head on my chest, and then I was asleep.

POV CHANGE

Carlos woke to an empty bed and sticky skin.

As he went downstairs to shower and get ready in the bathroom, he heard a familiar color coming out of the radio downstairs. When he opened the stairwell door, he found all of his coworkers huddled around the radio, listening intently.

"He was so incredible, listeners. Apparently the head scientist too, and you know I love a man in a uniform even if that uniform is a white lab coat and button down shirt. I really think it's the start of something special, Night Vale. I think he might like me too. It didn't feel like your typical one night stand. Oh and his eyes were such a wonderful shade of brown, and those beautiful dark locks of hair… My head is pounding right now, but I don't even care!"

Carlos was stunned.

He had just been outed in front of the whole town of Night Vale.

A few of his coworkers looked at him with disgust. But a majority of them smiled and patted him on the back, making comments about a gay aunt or uncle or cousin or friend that they had.

It was mortifying.

He showered, brushed his teeth, and began to march down to the NVCR station (which he had passed several times on his way to the Arby's.

He stormed into the building and up the stairs, and ran into an intern who had a stack of copies in her hands.

"Cecil?" He asked sternly.

She pointed down the hall.

He saw the on air sign and stood outside the door waiting until it turned off. Then, he flung the door open.

"Carlos!" Cecil squeaked in surprise and happiness.

"Why would you do that?" He asked sharply.

"Do what? I made sure not to describe our interactions in too much detail." Cecil said seemingly confused.

"I wasn't out yet!" Carlos was in a panic. "The people of this crazy town are having a hard time accepting me as is and now that they all know I'm gay…" the scientist was almost in tears.

"Oh, oh Carlos…" Cecil pulled him into a hug. "Night Vale doesn't care. I know every single person in this town and not a single one will see you any differently."

"But..my team...they might think I'm less capable as a leader.."

"Why would they think that? Our last mayor was a gender non conforming bisexual shark. And they were the best mayor we've ever had. We are all in Night Vale now, and if they've got a problem with you, they're not going to make it long around here."

Carlos smiled and nestled his head into Cecil's shoulder.

"Want to go for dinner tonight?" He said softly into the journalists ear.

And before Cecil even said anything, he already knew the answer.


	4. She (fluff)

"Isn't she so nice?" Jenny said.

Jenny was one of Carlos's scientists, one of the lower levels of lab assistants that had been with the team for quite some time.

Her statement of kindness would've been fine, if they weren't talking about the head scientist.

"Are...you still talking about Carlos?" He asked, puzzled.

"Oh, yes! He. Sorry. I forget. I knew him before….all of that, so…" she said smiling. "Anyway, I've got to get back to work. I'll tell him that you popped by." She said to Cecil.

This was truly a great mystery. Carlos was feminine, sure. But Carlos was male and he made that very clear. What was 'all of that'?

It made Cecil's under caffeinated brain hurt. He was stressed anyway, and this wasn't making it any better. He needed coffee, he needed to get to the station and get a nice big mug out and fill it with shitty break room coffee.

And that's what he did. He felt a little better by the time the show started, and he began thinking that maybe this morning was just a weird dream and it never happened.

At least he did, until Carlos texted him the following message-

"Hey Cecil, Jenny told me you were at the lab this morning! Sorry I missed you, dinner at my house tonight after the show?"

"Sure" he texted back during a pre recorded sponsor message.

And seemingly without any time going by, or perhaps a lot as time doesn't really work properly in Night Vale, the show was done.

And Carlos would be outside waiting for him, in his cute little lab coat, leaning on the hood of his hybrid car with the windows down so he could hear the last part of the show.

"Hey Cecil." He said with a smile, giving him a quick peck and getting into the driver's seat. Cecil climbed into the passenger seat, exchanging a few words with his boyfriend of a few months.

They talked about the day, and what they'd done. They talked about the weather and the week ahead.

And eventually they were back at Carlos's house, which was a small apartment above the lab. They climbed the outside stairwell and entered the living space. When Carlos turned on the lights, Cecil winced at the sudden brightness piercing his eyes. He didn't even realize he had a headache until then. He excused himself to the bathroom.

'It's probably the stress...god I hope it doesn't turn into a migraine…Carlos has to have some painkillers around here somewhere.' Cecil thought.

He closed and locked the bathroom door and began looking for where he kept his medicine. He opened a drawer and found….needles?

Well he was a scientist, so Cecil wasn't too surprised. He eventually discovered how to swing the mirror open to reveal the medicine cabinet.

Cecil opened it up, examining the various bottles of medications.

'Sertraline...melatonin….Allegra….ibuprofen!' He grabbed the bottle and took some water from the sink in his hand and used it to swallow the pill.

He went to replace the bottle and spotted something he hadn't seen before, a tiny glass bottle with the label turned around.

He spun the bottle and everything clicked into place.

Testosterone Cypionate.

"Cecil? You okay in there?" He heard his boyfriends lovely voice say from the other side of the door.

He unlocked it and opened it, pulling Carlos into a tight hug. And then, he noticed the binder lines he'd never really felt before, or the fact that Carlos never really showed him pictures of himself before a couple of years ago, or that his suit jacket never quite fit him in the correct places.

"Cece, what's up?" He said laughing.

"Carlos...I love you no matter what. I hope you know that."

"Awe, Cecil, you're sweet. Now let's go eat-" Carlos cut himself short when he saw his little bottle out on the counter.

"I...I'm sorry, I…" Carlos started, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Cecil's arms released the smaller man. "I was going to tell you...but I didn't want to ruin this."

"Oh Carlos, my sweet handsome Carlos, you could never ruin this. I don't care one bit if…." he stopped, unsure.

"You can say it, Cecil, it's not a curse word or a bad omen or anything. It's just a word."

"I don't care one bit if you're trans. You are perfect no matter what."

"But...I'm not...uh...surgically altered yet. And you're gay. Doesn't that make you uncomfortable?" Carlos said, looking up at Cecil with a worried expression.

"Not at all." He said with a smile, and this time, Carlos was the one who pulled him into a hug.

"I don't know what I did to deserve someone as wonderful as you, but I must've done something right." He said, tears stinging his eyes.

"You don't need to do anything special to deserve someone who loves you." Cecil presses a kiss to his forehead. "Now, let's go eat dinner."


	5. The Quinceanera (fluff)

Carlos had been telling Cecil about his nieces Quinceanera for months. Not so much reminding as offering, saying things like "Really Cecil, if you don't want to go you don't have to" and "we can leave early if you want, these things can go for hours and hours."

And Cecil said he'd be fine and they didn't speak about it until a week or so later.

What Carlos didn't know was that Cecil had been preparing for quite a while. Ever since he first learned about the Quince he started practicing dances and practicing his Spanish, which he had began dabbling in before the party announcement but he had only just started getting serious about it.

He told Carlos he had a new intern that couldn't keep up and he needed to finish the copies she didn't have time to make, or he needed to record some pre recorded sponser messages, or he needed to run by Old Woman Josie's house to speak to the definitely-not-angels.

But in reality, for an hour a day, he stayed in his recording booth, watching YouTube tutorial videos and having a couple of his interns help teach him how to dance and speak Spanish.

He would be damned if he couldn't dance with his boyfriend or talk to his family.

This would be the first time he would meet Carlos's parents and he needed to make a good impression.

And finally, after three months of Chona, Tao Tao, Propablemente, and Cumbia, the date came.

Cecil put on his black shirt and slacks, his white tie and purple vest, and waited for Carlos to get back from the dry cleaners.

Cecil was nervous. What would Carlos say when he saw what Cecil had been practicing? Had he even been practicing the right things? What if he messed something up?

His thoughts were interrupted by his beautiful Carlos opening the door with his plastic wrapped suit thrown over one shoulder, a few plastic grocery bags in the crook of his elbow, and phone in the other hand on speakerphone.

"Sì…..sì mama, Solo necesito vestirme."

The other voice on the line piped in.

"¿Conseguiste la comida, mijito?"

"Sí, compré las cosas que pediste." He replied. "estaremos allí en 45 minutos."

"Ok, te amo mi amor"

"Te amo, adiós." He hung up the call and sighed loudly, dropping the bags on the counter and rushing back to the bedroom.

Shockingly, Cecil understood almost every word Carlos said. He didn't think he'd become this skilled in a language in three months. Well, he'd tried to learn before, but didn't have time and stopped. So he did know some basics, I suppose.

Carlos emerged from the bedroom, still tying his tie, hair slicked and combed through and poofing out a bit at the bottom where gel failed to be applied. His eyes met Cecil's and he smiled, causing the poor radio hosts heart to skip about five beats.

"Honey could you grab the bags on the table? We gotta get going."

"Of course!" Cecil took the grocery bags and peeked inside, finding chips, tomatoes, avocados, and a single onion.

They both slipped on their respective pairs of black, shiny shoes and headed out the door, jumping into Carlos's little hybrid car.

The car ride was full of Carlos briefing Cecil on the itinerary for the party, telling him how things work outside of Night Vale, and reminding him that he had no obligations to participate.

Cecil kept his mouth shut about his lessons. Eventually they got to the venue, a lovely little house with a canopied backyard, streamers and little crepe paper flags decorated the walls and were strung through the supports of the the tarps.

There were people dancing by some big speakers on a nice wooden platform, but Carlos was walking towards the little house's sliding glass door. Cecil followed, and made their little signal that he wanted to hold Carlos's hand by giving the edge of his sleeve a little tug. Usually, Carlos would smile and surrender his hand to Cecil, twining their fingers together. He turned around and reached out his hand, but instead of taking the other man's slender fingers, he took the plastic bag. Cecil's heart broke a little bit, but he was sure there was a reason.

They entered the house and were in a kitchen, and there was a woman at the stove, cooking up a storm.

"Hola mama." Carlos said with a smile.

"Ay! Hola mi gordito" she said with a smile, turning from the stove to kiss the scientist on the cheek.

"Como estas, Carlos?" She said, turning back to her cooking.

"Bien, gracias. Ah, mama? Esta es Cecil. Vive en el mismo bloque de apartamentos que yo, y es un buen amigo."

Cecil's heart dropped. Friend? They've been dating for over a year. Lives in the same apartment block? THEY LIVED IN THE SAME DAMN APARTMENT!

Cecil wanted to surprise his boyfriend by learning Spanish. So surprise him he did.

He spoke up.

"Ah, disculpe, pero creo que es hora de que me vaya. Me disculpo por la intrusión. fue muy agradable conocerte."

[Oh, excuse me, but I think it's time for me to leave. I apologize for the intrusion. It was very nice to meet you]

Cecil turned to look at his boyfriend, who was getting more and more fidgety and nervous by the second, and took a minute to go through all the things he wanted to say. But none of those were appropriate for a public setting, so he settled for a simple, stony faced "Adios, Carlos".

"Cecil.." Carlos attempted to speak to the man, but he was already gone.

Cecil made it out of the driveway and down to the main road before he gave up on Carlos coming after him.

'Rightfully so.' He thought. 'Let him enjoy his party. I'm just a neighbor after all, why should he worry about me?'

He began angrily loosening his tie.

'I mean, it's been over a year. Am I something to be ashamed of? Is it because I'm from Night Vale? I kept my hair covering my extra eye… is this some sort of elaborate break up? Maybe him loving me is just a facade he puts up for my sake so he doesn't have to break my heart. Well too late.'

Cecil felt tears begin to stream down his face. He yelled in frustration, grabbing at his hair. He tried taking deep breaths to calm himself down, and eventually, it sort of worked and he stopped crying.

He held out his thumb as he walked, someone could at least get him to the outskirts of Night Vale even though it was probably a bad idea to have them take him into the city, as most outsiders get vaporized.

The exception being...

'No. We're not going to think of him.' Cecil told himself.

But he wanted to so damn bad. He could practically still hear Carlos's voice calling his name. It got louder and louder the more he thought about it.

He turned around and saw a little red hybrid car coming down the road, Carlos leaning out the window trying to get Cecil's attention.

He rolled his eyes and kept walking.

Carlos pulled up beside him.

"Cecil, honey, please let me explain."

"What is there to explain?"

"At least let me drive you home. You can't walk the whole way, Cece." Carlos unlocked the passenger door and Cecil reluctantly climbed into the car.

Carlos didn't start the car back up.

"Before we leave, we need to talk about this." He said, turning to his boyfriend.

Cecil said nothing, but nodded for him to continue. If he tried to speak he would cry.

He took a deep breath and sighed.

"They don't know yet. They don't know I'm gay."

"Then why did you want me to go with you?" Cecil said quietly, eyes welling up again.

"I thought if I invited you it would push me to come out before the party. I kept chickening out. Which brings me to my offer. Would you like to go home, or come with me back to the party and help me get out of the damn closet already?" Carlos said, taking Cecil's hand and squeezing gently.

He thought for a moment. These things were never a problem in Night Vale. Most everyone was some sort of LGBTQ subdivision, and those who weren't were allies. But this was a clear problem for Carlos, and he always wanted him to be happy and comfortable, and he had promised to stand by him and support him.

Cecil turned to his boyfriends worry filled face. He planted a kiss above his knitted together eyebrows.

"Turn the car around. Let's do this."

Carlos smiled wide, his worry melting away.

"Te amo, Cecil."

"I love you too."

People were eating by the time they got back to the party.

They found their seats and Carlos stood, tapping the edge of the glass of water.

"¡Hola a todos! muchas gracias por venir hoy para apoyar a mi dulce sobrina. Supongo que realmente ya no puedo llamarla bebé. 15 es un número grande y sigue creciendo. Felicidades, feliz cumpleaños Minerva. Sé que envié su regalo de cumpleaños por correo la semana pasada, pero después de mucha consideración, tengo otro para usted."

[hello everyone! thank you so much for coming today in support of my sweet baby niece. I suppose I can't really call her a baby anymore. 15 is a big number and it keeps getting bigger. Congratulations, happy birthday Minerva. I know I sent your birthday gift in the mail last week, but after much consideration, I have another one for you.]

He tugged Cecil's arm and wrapped their fingers together like they had done so many times before, getting the other man to stand with him.

"Te doy a ti, otro tío, como si ya no fuera suficiente." He said with a chuckle. "Técnicamente, has tenido otro tío durante un año y me disculpo por no decírtelo antes. De todos modos, feliz cumpleaños, querida."

[I give to you, another uncle, as if I weren't enough already. You've technically had another uncle for a year, and I apologize for not telling you sooner. Anyway, happy birthday, dear.]

There was a quick round of applause. They both sat down and Cecil gave his boyfriend a little hug.

His mom, who was sitting at the table next to them, got up and embraced Carlos.

"Tu padre estaría muy orgulloso." She said, her face buried into his shoulder.

[your father would be so proud]

He smiled and hugged her back, almost looking like he was about to cry. "Gracias mama."

They finished eating and began to walk around talking to people.

Eventually they got around to Carlos's niece. They hugged and exchanged a few words, then she turned to Cecil.

"So this is the white meat that's been fucking my uncle?"

Cecil's face turned red and he began stuttering.

"Minerva! ¡Por favor!"

"Sorry Tio, just interested is all. Glad you finally figured yourself out."

Carlos sighed, aggravated, but smiled and thanked her.

"Now what are you doing over here talking to us? Go be with your friends."

"They're kinda being jerks right now." She said, frowning softly.

"How so?" Cecil asked.

"Well I'm kinda talking to a couple people right now, and I think I'm into both of them, but they said that I can't have them both. But I can't choose, I like them both equally."

"Well who says you can't love multiple people? If they both like you too, and are okay with you being with multiple people, then what's the problem?" Cecil said, confused.

"They say I'm stealing possible dates for single people." She said laughing a bit.

Cecil and Carlos laughed too.

"Hey, don't let them get to you, cariño. You're strong and smart, and you can date whoever you want. You don't need their approval." Carlos said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled and nodded. "Gracias, Tìo…..s" she turned to Cecil, adding the s.

She picked up the hem of her dress and left.

Cecil and Carlos then took to the dance floor, where plenty of others were already there,

The song that was playing was a bit slower, so Cecil took Carlos's hands in his own and began the simple three step patterns he had learned just a few days prior, spinning Carlos in elegant circles.

"Cecil, when did you learn all of this?" Carlos muttered, awestruck.

"One hour a day after work. Sorry for the late arrivals home my dear, but I wanted to surprise you."

They danced and danced, song after song, as the party began picking up speed.

A woman came over and tapped Carlos on the shoulder.

He turned around and smiled wide.

"Hermanaaaaa!!" He enthusiastically said, wrapping her up in a big hug.

"Hi, brother. So, what's his name?" She said in a smooth, medium voice, looking at the taller man.

""Cecil. Cecil Palmer." He said, extending his hand.

She took it and shook. "I'm Alejandra. Cecil, can you drive?"

"Uh, yes?" He said, their hands separating.

"Good. I'll be back."

She left for a moment, and Cecil glances at Carlos with confusion.

And when she returned, Carlos laughed at what she was holding- two shots of tequila.

"Ale, I haven't had a drink in months. You know I'm a lightweight."

"Coño." She said with a smirk.

"Perra." He shot back, taking the little glass from her hand and downing it in defiance.

"There we go, loosen up a bit, Carlos!" She said with a smirk, throwing back her own shot.

Carlos shuddered and coughed, but smiled and laughed.

At that moment, Carlos's mom came over to the trio.

"Ven aquí yerno" She said, taking Cecil's arm and pulling him back towards the dance floor.

"C..Carlos?" Cecil said with concern.

"Good luck, mi amor. I'll be at the bar, I have a bet to settle." Carlos called after him.

An hour later, Cecil had learned three new dances and Carlos was bombed out of his mind. The radio host went back to check on his boyfriend, and discovered him voicing his appreciation for his sister.

"Yo solo ... te amo tanto ... eres una persona tan hermosa …" he slurred. Then he noticed Cecil approaching. "Cecilllll! Mi amor, corazon, mi flor, mi angel, my favorite person."

"I love you, but maybe it's time to get going home? It's already almost 11."

"Un baile mas?" He said with soft brown pleading eyes.

"Sure, love." Cecil said with a smile, helping his boyfriend stumble to the dance floor.

The DJ put on a nice slow song and Carlos rested his head on Cecil's chest, playing gently with his tie. They swayed softly and Cecil was sure his heart would pound out of his chest.

Carlos sang along with the song, his gentle voice flowing between the two and wrapping them up in song. It was pure bliss, until Carlos made a sharp gagging noise and ran to vomit in a bush.

Cecil grabbed a plastic bag that was lying on a table nearby and went over to rub his significant other's back as he spilled his stomach into the bush.

"Come on sweetheart, let's get you home." Cecil gently lead Carlos to the car.

"Ok...te amo…" he mumbled softly.

"Can I have the keys?" Cecil asked, holding out his hand.

"Mhm.." Carlos fumbled around in his pockets, pulling out the ring of keys, trading them for the plastic bag.

He set the smaller man up in the passenger side of the car, and went to inform his mom that they were leaving.

She proceeded to hand him a large grocery bag full of food.

"No los voy a dejar pasar hambre. Cuidar a mi hijo, por favor"

[I'm not letting you two go hungry. take care of my son, please.]

Cecil nodded and gave her a small hug.

She pecked him on the cheek and patted his back to send him off.

He carried the bag back to the car and put it in the backseat, then got into the driver's seat and adjusted its placement, as Carlos was a tad bit shorter.

Speaking of, he was asleep with his head leaning against the window.

Cecil started the car and backed down the driveway, then started back to Night Vale.

The half hour drive went fairly quickly, and Carlos never had to use his plastic bag.

Cecil helped his boyfriend up the stairs and into the apartment, putting the keys on the table. He helped Carlos out of his suit, which got abandoned on the floor as he crawled into bed with just his boxers remaining.

"We'll get you a shower tomorrow, ok? For now, sleep love. I'll be right back to join you in a moment."

"Ceecill…" Carlos groaned. "Please stay...No quiero que te vayas"

"I have to get the food out of the car honey...I'm sorry. I'll be back soon I promise." Cecil gave him a little kiss on the forehead and went to put the food away. While he was up he got Carlos's favorite mug, filled it with water, and got an ibuprofen from the bathroom. He went back to the bedroom, taking off his suit and discarding his clothing next to Carlos's. He set the mug and pill on the side table, and heard a little choked noise. He looked down and saw Carlos crying softly.

"Oh, my sweet beautiful Carlos, what's wrong?" He asked, settling into bed next to him.

Carlos hugger him and cried into his chest.

"I…*hic* made you...sad…I'm *hic* sorry"

"Oh no, it's alright my love. You had your reason, I knew you did. I love you." Cecil planted a kiss on Carlos's head through his silky black hair.

"I love you too…" he said, drifting off to sleep.


	6. A Hard Day (fluff and smut)

It was a rough day for Carlos.

Two of his assistants discovered a way to enlarge creatures, and then were eaten by the giant mouse they tested it on. Carlos had to kill the giant mouse with a kitchen knife he'd pulled out of the knife block in the kitchen, and clean it all up himself. Not to mention he forgot his lunch and was starving all day. So when he came home, covered in giant mouse blood and the blood of his assistants, feet hurting and stomach growling, Cecil instantly knew he had to make this better.

"Carlos...sweetie...I'm so sorry. You look like you had a very rough day. Don't worry about speaking, let's just get you into a nice bath okay?"

Carlos nodded, too spent to do much talking anyway.

He let Cecil gently help him up and out of his lab coat, wrapping an arm around his shoulders for support.

Once in the bathroom, he sat Carlos down on the toilet seat and turned on the water to start warming it up. He took the man's phone and unlocked it, putting on one of his favorite playlists.

"You must've had such a rough time, I saw your lunch in the fridge as well, you must be starving. I'll make your favorite Mac and cheese once you're in the tub my love."

Carlos's stomach growled at the thought.

Cecil began unbuttoning Carlos's shirt, stripping him of the blood soaked clothes.

He felt the water and plugged the drain, then put in some spearmint eucalyptus bubble bath in the tub.

While that filled up, Cecil pulled Carlos's parts off along with his boxers, and helped him into the hot bath.

Once the tub was full, Cecil turned off the water.

"Is there anything else you need sweetheart?"

Carlos nodded.

"What's that? You may speak to tell me what you need." Cecil permitted.

"A kiss." Carlos said with a rough cracked voice.

Cecil chuckled and leaned down to kiss him with soft lips.

"I'm going to start dinner. You relax. I'll be back soon to wash your hair." Cecil gave him another peck and left the bathroom.

Carlos sunk down into the hot water and let out a little sigh, his muscles relaxing and his mind clearing. The heat pricked at his skin in a delightful way, distracting him from his hunger and pain.

Soon, Carlos could hear Cecil's steps coming back down the hall.

He entered the bathroom with a plush robe and towel. He set these on the sink counter and went to sit on the side of the tub.

"Let's get the nasty stuff out of your hair now, my prince."

Carlos hummed, dunking his head under the water to wet his hair. The water was a light pink from the dried blood being washed away.

When he pulled back up Cecil already had a palmful of shampoo, which he began working through Carlos's curls. He lathered the light pink soap through dark locks with then occasional grey hair around his temples. He massaged his scalp and pushed away little bits of dandruff.

He cupped water in his hands, and poured it over Carlos's head, doing this a few times before completely rinsing him clean of shampoo.

"Is the water too cold?"

Carlos shook his head no.

"Alright, come call for me if it gets chilly, alright?"

Carlos nodded.

Cecil went back to the kitchen and continued on dinner.

And eventually, the bath did get a bit cold. Carlos could get out himself and dry off, but he knew how much Cecil enjoyed taking care of him.

"Cece?" He called out.

He heard a clanging of pans and rushed footsteps.

He re entered the bathroom.

"Too cold?"

Carlos nodded.

"Would you like more water or would you like to get out?"

"I would like to get out." He said, his voice still rough.

"Hm..I think I'll make you some tea as well." Cecil muttered, unfolding the towel and pulling the drain of the tub. He helped Carlos out of the bath and rubbed him dry with the soft towel. Then, he was being wrapped in the plush robe.

The towel was discarded in the laundry hamper and Carlos was led to the couch, set up with a pillow and blanket, and reruns of shows from the discovery channel.

He could hear the Mac and cheese being put in the oven, the soft clanging of the glass casserole dish against the metal racks.

Then, the crisp chopping of lettuce, and the soft snaps of carrot sticks being broken into pieces, and the wet hollow crunch of a bell pepper being cut.

On the screen, Carlos saw a bear swatting at the roaring whitecaps for fish, and an owl snatching up a mouse.

A half an hour later, the timer dinged, and a few minutes after that, Cecil was bringing him a plate full of macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs on top and a garden salad with vinaigrette, and a mug of tea.

"Do you want to feed yourself or do you need my help?"

Carlos surrendered his fork and pulled his blanket tighter around him.

"It's okay to ask for help my love." He said, kissing Carlos's cheek.

The first bite of macaroni that Cecil slid into his mouth was heavenly. Carlos's growling stomach very much approved.

open mouth, bite, chew, swallow, repeat. There was comfort in this simple pattern, and soon there was nothing left on the plate.

Cecil then went to get his own food, and sat down on the couch with Carlos once again.

Carlos looked over at his other half, the sunset projecting orange and pink against his pale skin and blonde hair as he took a small bite of salad.

Carlos sipped his tea, letting it soothe his sore throat.

Once Cecil was finished, he gently took Carlos's hand and tugged him towards their bedroom. The scientist lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, listening to his boyfriends shuffling. He heard their 'special drawer' in the dresser open, and a bottle being uncapped. He opened his eyes and saw Cecil with a bottle of oil coming towards him. He set the bottle on the dresser.

The tie of Carlos's robe was being untied and the plush fabric was being slipped off of him, and he was being pushed down onto his stomach on the bed.

He heard the bottle being tipped and hands rubbing together to heat the oil.

Then it was just Cecil. His hands on the smaller mans back, working the muscles and caressing the curves.

Carlos moaned in pleasure as his significant others hands began to erase all of the worries and fears of the day.

His shoulders were first, thumbs digging in to sensitive flesh and coaxing the muscles to release their tenseness.

Cecil worked down his back and arms, flexing joints and pressing his fingers against ribs. He moved down to his feet, massaging into the balls of his feet and heels. Ankles were rotated, toes were popped, and Carlos was in bliss.

Then it was his calves and thighs that were taken under the magical hands of Cecil.

After that, the radio host tapped Carlos's side, He flipped over, revealing a red face and half hard dick.

Cecil didn't start there though, like he usually would. First he put some more oil in his hands, and then he ran his hands over Carlos's chest, massaging the oil into his soft caramel skin.

Cecil circled his nipples and Carlos arched his back a little, trying to get Cecil to play with them, but Cecil refused, instead moving to caress the curves of his sides and stomach. Carlos squirmed, hardening even more.

The oil was spread to his hip bones, as Cecil teased around the base of his cock.

Carlos whined, pushing up into his boyfriend.

Cecil put more oil on both of his hands, and finally, finally his neglected cock was being touched.

Carlos moaned loudly as Cecil stroked him. He was close already.

After a few strokes, Carlos felt a pressure against his ass as a finger entered him and curled up.

He let out a shriek as Cecil toyed with his spot and picked up the speed of his stroking.

"C..Cec...illl…!" he moaned roughly before screaming and cumming in his hand.

As he came down from his high, he felt the covers being pulled over him, and his boyfriends body pressed against him, acting as big spoon.

Carlos smiled from ear to ear.

"I'm so lucky to have you…" he whispered to Cecil.

"I think I'm the lucky one. I love you, my perfect Carlos."

And before he could answer, Carlos was asleep.


End file.
